New Guy On The Block

[William Daves]

Hello All-

Wanted to take a moment a introduce myself. First- I am not licensed, and therefore DO NOT practice nor pretend that I am a home inspector.

I do however practice the philosophy that forums such as this offer a wealth of info (while those of you that are licensed) share your knowledge and experiences. I'm all ears.

My most recent "inspection experience" was in the capacity of a "Windstorm Inspector", yes, they chose the title, not I. I was an independent contractor for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (aka TWIA), and worked under the supervision of the Texas Dept. of Insurance. My interaction with TWIA was minimal at best, as the TDI trained and supervised our activities. All in all, I would have to say it was a very good learning experience. And it has certainly sparked my interest in post-disaster inspecting as a potential career field. I have been a licensed NC real estate broker for approx. 10 years, although my CE's fell behind as I have been in Galveston for the past 11 months. My brokers license will be considered "active" once I complete my CE's, which I begin on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

I think that sums it up.

In advance, I appreciate the opportunity to expand my horizons here.

Respectfully,

William (Bill) Daves

[A.D. Miller]

BD: Welcome.

[Jim Luttrall]

Welcome, even though you are from the dark side
My brokers license will be considered "active" once I complete my CE's,:D
We won't hold that against you... much, that is.;)

[A.D. Miller]

Welcome, even though you are from the dark side :D
We won't hold that against you... much, that is.;)

JL: Could be worse. He could be an AHJ . . .:cool:

[William Daves]

Thank you AD for the welcome, and well, JL, I'll try not to live up to any standards that some of my industry coharts may have practiced, and I know their antics.

Again, in advance, thanks for the lessons to be learned herein.

Bill Daves

[Richard Stanley]

Ok, welcome, I'm sure you are a good person -- actually I'm not sure, but anyway .. in your training for Texas windstorm inspections, did anyone ever mention actually 'looking' at the building? I ask because that does not seem to be the general practice -- I could be wrong!!

[Ron Bibler]

Welcome William. Good to have you around. Don't let these wack jobs get to you If they can make you cry they win...

Put a knocking stick in your hand when you come around this board. Its the only thing some of them understand.

Best

Ron

[William Daves]

Richard-

Well, yes, we certainly "looked", and at times, we were required to get OUT of our vehicle! Those were the "long days"! Just kidding.

Due to the fact that the majority of my coharts in crime were strictly roof covering and roof decking inspectors, we "specialized" for lack of a better term, in roof and decking replacements for the coastal zones. Plus keep in mind that we were supervised by the TDI, were not paid per inspection, and were constantly evaluated by highly experienced quality control managers. Engineering firms that performed fee based windstorm certifications likely took a different approach than ours, not saying here that they were better or worse, just different processes.

Like I said earlier, it was absolutely a great opportunity to gain an indepth knowledge concerning the numerous effects of wind forces on structures and the construction requirements for coastal zones. Again, my function was strictly limited to roof and decking. We did have highly experienced siding, door, and window inspectors in our office, and while I was exposed to their work, I did not perform those inspections.

I can tell you that we didnt "make friends" with a number of roofing contractors in that area, BUT, making friends was never part of the job description. And, as we all know, "when you do it right", the code inspection should not complicate matters.

[William Daves]

Hey Ron-

Ah, dont worry, Im fairly familiar with then differing "environments" we enter when participating on forums.

I see you ride- and speaking of "carrying a stick"; you ever been over to the Delphi Forum named MC101?

Its a really good indoctrination to expectations of different groups on forums. If you visit MC101, make sure to post a quick intro.........

[Scott Patterson]

Hi Bill and Welcome to the board. You are in a great part of NC and you also have some great inspectors in your area that you should make friends with and do a few shadow type inspections with them.

[William Daves]

Scott-

Yes you are correct on all accounts!

Preciate your input..........